Indian corn contains more oil or fat than any of the common cereals. It will make as white and fine flour as wheat, but this does not make good fermented bread, unless mixed with wheaten flour. Corn Meal is healthful, nutritious and cheap, but, owing to its fat, is prone to attract oxygen and spoil, especially in warm weather. There are two kinds, one WHITE, the other GOLDEN YELLOW. They are equally nutritious, and about the same in price. Some prefer the one and some the other, but probably the yellow is rather the most popular. The starch extracted from corn is very extensively used throughout the country, and such leading brands of CORN STARCH as those of Kingsford, Duryea, etc., are well known. In fact, the consumption of all the products of corn is enormous.
Samp is corn deprived of its skin and eye and left whole or cracked in halves. Hominy is corn ground or cracked into coarse, medium or fine grains, and pearled or polished. Dried Corn, largely prepared by the Shakers, is sweet corn boiled and dried. It is excellent and much used as a vegetable.
Rye Flour.
Rye ranks next to wheat for bread making, and is equally nutritious. It yields less flour and more bran than wheat, contains more sugar, and is darker in color. Its gluten has less tenacity and it will not make as light and spongy bread as wheat flour, hence is little used in this country. Rye flour should contain a little of the bran, as this has a pleasant, aromatic flavor. The “Black bread,” so extensively eaten in portions of Europe, is made of rye flour. It is dark, heavy and sourish, but like all rye bread, has the property of keeping moist a long time. Two parts of wheat with one of rye flour makes wholesome and palatable bread.
Barley.
This grain is less nutritious and less digestible than wheat, but contains more sugar and more of the phosphates, and is also cooling. It will not make good bread, but is sometimes used for the purpose, mixed with wheaten flour.
Pearl Barley is the whole grain freed from its hulls like rice. It is used in soups, etc., and is sold by all grocers. In the best qualities the grains are large and well rounded. It is sold in bulk and in pound packages.
Oatmeal.
Oats are substantial, nutritious and wholesome, being rich in gluten and fat. Oatmeal for the table is made from kiln dried, large, white oats, freed from the husks. Alone it does not make good bread. If long used as a sole or chief food it is reputed to overtax the digestive organs, heat the blood, and produce eruptions of the skin. Many claim, however, that these effects are due solely to insufficient cooking of the meal or porridge, and there are excellent preparations in market which have been well cooked by steam and afterwards dried.
Besides these there are various brands of Scotch, Irish, Canadian and American oatmeal, “Crushed,” “Rolled,” “Granulated,” etc., also oat “Avena,” “Farina,” etc. Groats are the whole kernels of oats deprived of their husks. The consumption of oatmeal has vastly increased within five or six years, and is rapidly becoming universal. Salt only after cooking. If added before, salt tends to harden the meal and prevent its swelling.